Isle of Man – RAF Diamond Jubilee – Mercury cover – 1978
| FDC image | No image uploaded |
|---|---|
| FDC reverse image | No reverse image uploaded |
| Country | Isle of Man |
| Country code | IM |
| Issue title | RAF Diamond Jubilee – Mercury cover |
| Date of issue | 28 February 1978 |
| Withdrawal or invalidation date | 27 February 1979 (stamps withdrawn from sale)
|
| Stamp type | Commemorative stamp |
| Stamp subtype | Anniversary |
| Theme or subject | Royal Air Force; military aviation; naval aviation; Isle of Man |
| Text credit | |
| Designer or artist | A. D. Theobald |
| Printer | John Waddington’s Ltd |
| Printing process | Lithography |
| Colours | Multicoloured; four colours for each value |
| Paper and gum | P.V.A.-gummed paper, 102 g/m² (information sheet) |
| Perforation | 13½ × 14 |
| Stamp dimensions | 29.85 × 48.26 mm (information sheet) |
| Issue format | Sheets of 50 (two panes of 5 × 5) |
| Number of stamps | 4 |
| Cover type | Standard cover |
| Cover producer | Mercury |
| Cover reference | |
| Limited edition | No |
| Edition limit | N/A |
| Copy number | N/A |
| Cachet or cover design | Blue aircraft and globe illustration with 60th Anniversary of the Royal Air Force and First Day Cover wording, and Mercury emblem. |
| Addressed | No |
| Postmark type | Special handstamp |
| Postmark location | Douglas, Isle of Man |
| Postmark date | 28 February 1978 |
| Postmark inscription | TOWER INSURANCE / GOLDEN JUBILEE / 1928–1978 / 28 FEBRUARY 78 / DOUGLAS / ISLE OF MAN |
| Postmark notes | Rectangular Tower Insurance golden-jubilee handstamp dated on the stamp issue day. The company name is partly obscured by the stamp designs. |
| Postmark image |
No postmark image uploaded
|
| Signed | No |
| Signed by | N/A |
| Signature details | N/A |
| Information sheet included | Yes |
| Information materials | |
| Information sheet title | |
| Information sheet image | No image uploaded |
| Information sheet reverse image | No reverse image uploaded |
| Information sheet notes | |
| Certificate of authenticity included | No |
| Certificate of authenticity image | N/A |
| Certificate of authenticity reverse image | N/A |
| FDC owned | No |
| Condition | |
| Collection Comment | Wanted cover; the supplied reference photograph is private and shows a Tower Insurance jubilee cancellation. |
The four RAF Diamond Jubilee stamps were issued on 28 February 1978.[1]
Illustrated cover
This Mercury cover is wanted for the collection. The reference example is unaddressed and bears the full set arranged 7p and 6p above 13p and 11p. It is cancelled at Douglas on 28 February 1978 with a rectangular Tower Insurance golden-jubilee handstamp.[2]
The cancellation commemorates Tower Insurance’s golden jubilee, 1928–1978, rather than the RAF’s 60th anniversary. Its date nevertheless coincides with the stamps’ first day of issue.[2] The company’s published history confirms that Tower Insurance was incorporated in 1928.[3]
Historical background and designs
The issue commemorates the Royal Air Force diamond jubilee, 1918–1978. The official leaflet dates the RAF’s formation to 1 April 1918, through the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service. The stamp issue date was 28 February 1978; it is distinct from the anniversary date. The designs trace island connections from First World War seaplane carriers to wartime Jurby and modern flying over Ramsey.[4]
The leaflet traces the training role of RAF Jurby through air observer, bombing and gunnery, navigation and air gunnery schools, as well as its wartime fighter squadrons. It also describes Leonard Cheshire’s training there in 1940 and the later reopening for initial and officer-cadet training. It records the Freedom of Ramsey in December 1954 and the Freedom of Douglas in July 1955, and describes No. 243 Mobile Signals Unit’s establishment in January 1956. These accounts provide the leaflet’s historical context for the RAF’s Manx connections.[4]
The 6p shows a Short Type 184 seaplane with HMS Ben-my-Chree in 1915. The official leaflet associates the design with Flight Commander C. H. K. Edmonds’s torpedo attack on 12 August 1915 and the island’s links with naval aviation through requisitioned Steam Packet ships.[4]
The 7p depicts a Bristol Scout C flying above HMS Vindex in 1915. The catalogue identifies the aircraft as a Bristol Scout C; the stamp inscription and information sheet use the shorter Bristol Scout. The leaflet relates the scene to Flight Lieutenant Fowler’s take-off from the carrier’s short forward deck on 3 November 1915, and identifies the vessel as the former Viking.[4]
The 11p shows a Boulton Paul Defiant over Douglas Bay in 1941. The leaflet identifies it with No. 307 (Polish) Squadron, which flew Defiant night fighters from Jurby, and describes the scene as a dusk flight on its way to assist in the defence of Liverpool.[4]
The 13p depicts a SEPECAT Jaguar flying over Ramsey in 1977. The leaflet presents the Jaguar as representing the contemporary RAF and explains that military aircraft used the range off Jurby Head for practice, although no RAF aircraft were then stationed on the island.[4]
Production details
The information sheet credits A. D. Theobald as designer and John Waddington’s Ltd as printer. It specifies lithography, four colours for each value, a stamp size of 29.85 × 48.26 mm, unwatermarked P.V.A.-gummed paper of 102 g/m², and perforation 13½ × 14. The catalogue gives the same perforation.[4][1]
The catalogue records sheets of 50, in two panes of 5 × 5, and plate numbers 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D for every value, each × 4. The leaflet likewise records two panes of 25 and describes printed cylinder details 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D alongside “traffic lights”.[1][4]
Sales and withdrawal
The catalogue records 690,536 sold of the 6p, 875,811 of the 7p, 416,082 of the 11p and 422,797 of the 13p. These figures count stamps, not covers. The stamps were withdrawn from sale on 27 February 1979.[1]
Related covers
- Isle of Man – RAF Diamond Jubilee – Official cover – 1978
- Isle of Man – RAF Diamond Jubilee – Stuart cover – 1978
Stamps on this cover
The illustrations are cancelled stamp scans from the collector’s owned official cover. They illustrate the shared stamp issue, not the particular stamps on the wanted example.
| Image | Identifier | Face value | Subject | Format | Other catalogues | Notes
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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IM-SG-108 | 7p | Bristol Scout C and HMS Vindex, 1915 | Stamp | Scan from the collector’s official cover.
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|
IM-SG-107 | 6p | Short Type 184 seaplane and HMS Ben-my-Chree, 1915 | Stamp | Scan from the collector’s official cover.
| |
|
IM-SG-110 | 13p | SEPECAT Jaguar over Ramsey, 1977 | Stamp | Scan from the collector’s official cover.
| |
|
IM-SG-109 | 11p | Boulton Paul Defiant over Douglas Bay, 1941 | Stamp | Scan from the collector’s official cover.
|
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Stanley Gibbons.Channel Islands and Isle of Man 2022 Edition Stamp Catalogue(31st combined edition).Stanley Gibbons.2022.Section: Isle of Man.p. 204.Catalogue system: Stanley Gibbons.Catalogue number(s): 107–110.ISBN: 978-1-911304-89-0.Place of publication: Ringwood. Details transcribed from the catalogue by the collector. The collector confirms the 7p subject as Bristol Scout C.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 RAF Diamond Jubilee — Mercury cover — 1978(Reference photograph).Photograph supplied by the collector for private identification of a wanted cover; not an owned collection scan.
- ↑ “About Intact Insurance Isle of Man”. Intact Insurance Isle of Man. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Royal Air Force Diamond Jubilee — Date of Issue 28th February 1978(Information sheet).Isle of Man Post Office Authority.Two-sided information sheet accompanying the collector’s owned official cover. Scans: front and reverse.
